NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis Delivers Opening Keynote

WATERBURY, Conn.– Naugatuck Valley Community College President and Dominican Republic native Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D will deliver the opening keynote address and introduce the closing keynote speaker, María Harper-Marinick, Chancellor of Arizona Maricopa Community Colleges, at the 2018 Biennial Dominican Studies Association (DSA) Conference. The three-day conference is being held at Eugenio María de Hostos Community College in Bronx, NY, on November 15-17. Founded in 1996, DSA is a professional association of scholars whose mission is to promote and disseminate the study of the Dominican experience through diverse academic disciplines, artistic expressions, and the bodies of knowledge stemming from the work of cultural advocates and grass-roots organizations. The DSA welcomes the contributions of Dominicanists from around the globe whether or not they can claim ancestral ties to the Dominican Republic. The theme for this year’s conference is “Dominicans on the Map: Heritage, Citizenship, Memory and Social Justice.”

The conference kicks off on November 15 with academics and scholars representing institutions as varied as Syracuse University, Columbia, Harvard, the University of Georgia, and those from the CUNY system. Participants can attend more than a dozen sessions and workshops on everything from literature of the diaspora to community building to political and economic empowerment options for Dominicans.

“As the founding president (1996-2014) of the Dominican Studies Association, I am delighted to see how membership has grown and how inclusive and meaningful this year’s program is,” said President De Filippis. “As I read the program, I see many challenging and important topics addressed by a very diverse group of presenters- academics, artists, fiction writers, poets, elected officials and community leaders. It is an intellectual banquet.”

Since 2008, President De Filippis has served as President of Naugatuck Valley Community College. Under her guidance, student retention has steadily risen, enrollment has increased, graduation awards have grown, and a thriving expanded campus in Danbury was developed. Last year, NVCC was named one of the top 25 community colleges nationwide in advancing opportunities for low-income students. She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish language and a M. Phil. in Spanish literature from the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY, an M.A. in Spanish literature, a B.A. in Spanish and English literatures from Queens College, CUNY, and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from the University of Santo Domingo (UASD) in recognition of her contribution to Dominican, Caribbean, and Dominican Diaspora literature. President De Filippis serves on the Connecticut Technical High School System Board, the Prospect Waterbury Local Advisory Board, the advisory board of the Dominican Studies Institute at the City College, CUNY and on the Board of the Dominican Studies Association. She is a regular panelist at the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Wellesley Conference where she provides leadership and career advice to approximately sixty women each spring. President De Filippis recently completed nine-year terms of service on the Board of Directors for the Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater Waterbury and was recently inducted to the Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame for her outstanding contributions to the cultural, economic, and civic development of the state of Connecticut.